Jacqueline Woodson's spare, evocative picture book teaches how the smallest considerate acts can make the world a better place.

Many children are a little more self-conscious than they are outgoing, especially when they’re worried about a gesture that might cause their friends to mock them.

That’s why Chloe, an elementary school age girl, is hesitant when her teacher introduces a new student named Maya in Jacqueline Woodson’s “Each Kindness” (Nancy Paulsen Books, $16.99).

Maya is wearing the wrong things: “spring shoes, not meant for the snow,” and one has a broken strap. Chloe and her BFFs don’t return Maya’s tentative smiles, and leave her alone at recess and lunch. Plucky Chloe tries unsuccessfully to reach out to the stolid girls. Then one day, her classroom seat is empty.